Patron of the Missionaries
Arokia Anthony DOMINIC, India, II anno Community
The Catholic Church on Dec. 3 honours St. Francis
Xavier, one of the greatest missionaries in the history of the church
after St. Paul. It is a significant day to the family of the Propaganda
fide. The propagandists are inspired by the very life of St Francis
Xavier, the patron of the missionaries. It is befitting to honour this
revered missionary saint.As per the tradition, the Urban College
participated at the festal mass in honour of St Francis Xavier at the
church of Gesu, the mother church of Jesuits in Rome. The solemn
Eucharistic celebration was presided over by His Eminence Fernando
Cardinal Filoni, the Prefect for the congregation of the evangelization
of peoples, together with the other Jesuits and the formators of Urban
College. The College choir helped in the lively participation of the
mass through their melodious singing.
The cardinal in his introduction exhorted the congregation to imbibe the missionary spirit of the Saint and thus seek his intercession for a fruitful mission. In the homily he outlined the life history of the saint and his call to Priesthood through the intervention of St. Ignatius of Loyola who convinced Francis to give up his own plans and open his mind to God’s will. Thus Francis Xavier became the co-founder of the society of Jesuits. The Cardinal underlined the missionary zeal of St Francis Xavier who travelled across the seas to the East Indies, Japan and was about to extend his mission in China but died in Shangchuan island in China. St. Francis Xavier overcame all the barriers during his mission work just to embrace the Gospel and preach to the peripheries where he baptized thousands of people. The Cardinal also reflected upon the missionary work of St Paul, who always remains a model to the missionaries. Also the life of St Therese of Lisieux, the patroness of the missionaries, continues to inspire us through her contemplative way of life and mystical spirituality, where all through her life she prayed for the mission. Finally cardinal recalled the advent message of Pope Francis too was an invitation “to enlarge our horizons” to further dimensions, giving meaning even to everyday occurrences because the Lord comes in the hour which we don’t imagine. He concluded the homily saying that each of us is called to be missionaries and this mission has to be extended to all, following the example of St. Francis Xavier. The Eucharistic Celebration concluded with the litany of St Francis Xavier and veneration of an arm of St Francis Xavier which rests within a reliquary above the altar in the right transept. The arm by which he baptized hundreds and thousands of people during his mission work.
Arokia Anthony DOMINIC, India, II Year,Urbaniana University, Rome
http://www.collegiourbano.org/en/56/festa-di-san-francesco-saverio
http://www.collegiourbano.org/it/114/consegna-della-talare-agli-alu
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